Stuart business owners feeling effects of East Ocean Boulevard project

STUART — As a large tanker truck sprayed water across the dusty, rutted trail that used to be East Ocean Boulevard facing the Martin County Courthouse, Pam Pusateri waved at the water cannon gunner and smiled ruefully.

"That's the first water truck I've seen come through here," the owner of Pusateri's Thin Chicago Pizza said, toeing the construction site just outside her front door. "It's ridiculous."

Pusateri and others along the construction route, which extends from Confusion Corner downtown to 200 feet east of Georgia Avenue, said work to improve stormwater drainage, resurface the road and install new crosswalks to Memorial Park has made life and business difficult.

Dust blows from the construction site and traffic flow slows down.

It's even more difficult now that the project is running six weeks behind schedule, they said. Work was delayed because some of the road surfaces workers tried to remove were so hard they knocked three pieces of equipment out of commission.

But the end is in sight, officials said the project should be complete by mid-March.

That's welcome news for business owners and residents.

"Dinner is our big business," Pusateri said. "But that's when a lot of the work is being done. There's been no drive-by traffic."

At one point, conditions just outside her storefront forced her to close for the day, she said.

Bagel Brothers of New York co-owner Jason Dippolito said he sees the adverse effects of the lingering work in the company's income and hears about it from his customers.

"We found concrete and really hard asphalt. We don't know if (previous work) used granite or possibly glass in the mix," Rauth said.

Whatever was there, it put three large milling machines out of commission to date, Rauth said. A fourth milling machine was brought on site, and crews finished the majority of the grinding work Thursday night, with only details and touch-up milling remaining, Rauth said.

If the heavy equipment holds up and weather permits, paving should be completed by Feb. 19, Rauth said.

Stuart Public Works Director Sam Amerson anticipated it would take about two weeks to complete installation of the crosswalks, and officials said the project could be completed by mid-March.

"They've had some real challenges," Amerson said. "But when it's done, it's going to be really, really nice. I think the public is going to be impressed."

In the meantime, shop owners with bankers' hours said it's been tough. Restaurateurs and others with evening-hour establishments said it's been worse.

But Teak Leasor, who owns the 561 skateboard shop at the corner of East Ocean and Denver Street and lives above his store in Civitas I, has an entirely different perspective.

Working is "not too bad, but living is a whole different story," Leasor said.